


A Mad Duke and the Fair Lady

by hanashimonova



Category: Klaroline - Fandom, Klaus and Caroline - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Human, Regency Romance, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 13:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5541155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanashimonova/pseuds/hanashimonova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus is a recluse and war veteran that has returned home and rejoined society in order to fulfill his duty as a Duke. Caroline a fair lady that helps him in distress. One passionate kiss may just lead to both of their lives entwining forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Mad Duke and the Fair Lady

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mytraitorousheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mytraitorousheart/gifts).



> Hello, this is a gift to mytraitorusheart and I hope that you enjoy this drabble! There's definitely some chemistry ;)

London, 1817  
The Duke of Colbern stood in the shadows as his eyes raked over the grand ballroom. There were men and women dancing as well as matrons chatting with one another as patrons snuck away to the card rooms undetected. With a sigh, he felt a headache coming on and pushed it as far down as he could.  
Unfortunately, this particular headache was being a stubborn pain in the arse and he winced as he pulled at his cravat that seemed to be choking the life out of him. Unable to stand the heat in the ballroom any longer, he darted towards the terrace doors and even though he heard whispers and gasps coming from each side of him, he ignored them.  
_“...the mad duke should be in bedlam.”_  
_“The Duke has changed so drastically after his time at Waterloo.”_  
_“The man is unfit for his position-- Prinny must do something about this.”_  
_“His line will die with him-- after all, no lady of the aristocracy will have him.”_  
Finally, the Duke got outside and as he clutched the railing of the balcony, dry heaves wracked his body as the memories from the war overwhelmed him.  
All he wanted to do was forget about that time in his life, but no matter how hard he tried, he was never successful in putting those memories away for good.  
“Sir, are you alright?” A concerned voice questioned from behind him and quickly he turned, his stormy blue-gray eyes wild.  
The voice belonged to a taller than average woman with beautiful blonde hair that looked like spun gold. In the darkness, he could still see the concern in her bright blue eyes and he felt himself relax.  
“Fine,” he said gruffly, dismissing her by turning towards the gardens below.  
After all, there was no point in speaking to a girl that would surely recoil in fear if one of his episodes overtook him. At the moment, he wasn't strong enough to fight the gruesome memories off and all he wanted was to be left alone.  
“Not one for conversation, are you?” She asked as she came up beside him and placed her own hands on the railing, looking out into the garden.  
“No,” he answered even though he knew that if he ignored her, she would have gotten the hint and made her way back to her mama like a good little chit.  
“Well, I applaud you for your honesty.” She shrugged and he looked over at her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  
“You're still here.” He said flatly as he watched her with something akin to interest.  
“It would have been rude of me to leave a man in distress.” The blonde simply said before she realized that she made him out to be some sort of dandy with delicate feelings. “Not that you're not man enough,” she quickly added as she felt her cheeks heating.  
A chuckle made its way up his throat and before he knew it, he was laughing out loud with nothing held back. For the first time in a long time, Niklaus Mikaelson, the 5th Duke of Colbern felt at ease.  
“Thank you,” he said as he turned to her and clasped her hand in his own.  
The girl looked down at their gloved hands and gave him a smile before she tried to pull her hand away.  
Klaus, however, was not yet quite ready to let the beautiful lady go and as his eyes trailed over her face, they stopped at her lips. Her bottom lip was fuller than her upper lip and he found himself wanting to kiss her.  
Though he knew that what he was doing was not right, he couldn't help himself hence the reason why his lips slowly touched hers.  
At first, she didn't respond, but when he urged her lips to move with his own, she did with innocent curiosity.  
A couple of seconds later, Klaus moved back and watched as the girl’s eyes drifted open. She looked content, but soon thereafter her eyes widened in surprise.  
“You should not have done that.” She told him as her hands clenched into fists in order to keep him from seeing that they were shaking.  
“No, I shouldn’t have.” He agreed. “But I simply could not help it.” He shrugged before he caressed her cheek and kissed her once more.  
He moved them into the shadows of the terrace and pushed her against the brick wall gently before he moved his lips down to her neck. He sucked hard and she moaned in response.  
Lady Caroline Forbes, the Earl of Raildane’s daughter knew that what she was doing was unwise, but she couldn’t help herself. Exhaling a moan, she ran her fingers through his dirty blonde curls and moaned as he weighed her breasts in his large hands.  
“Ohh,” she moaned as she arched her back in his direction and he smirked against her throat.  
When Caroline’s senses returned, she realized that what she was doing went against all propriety hence the reason why she pushed him away.  
“I have to go.” She cried before she moved past him and into the ballroom. Though Caroline did not wish to look like she has been doing just what she was doing, she couldn’t help it which is why she stayed near the shadows of the ballroom.  
Once in the corridor, she made her way up the stairs and into the powder room. Thankfully, there was nobody nearby, so she made her way to the mirror and gasped.  
“Oh, god... “ She said out loud as she quickly tried to put her blonde curls to right as well as her swollen lips.  
When she looked as she did before her kissing session with the man on the terrace, she inhaled a deep breath and made her way down the stairs.  
When she was there, she spotted her mother surrounded by society matrons and huffed in annoyance before she approached them.  
“Caroline, is everything alright?” Liz asked worriedly, pushing gently past the other woman.  
“Yes, mama. I simply have a headache and would like it if I could go home now.”  
“Of course, I’ll have a footman bring our cloaks and I will find your father who is most likely in the card room.” She laughed, thinking about her husband whom she loved deeply.  
“Oh no, mama. I don't want either of you to end your night on my behalf.” Caroline shook her head. “I'll be fine, truly.”  
“I don't know… It is never wise to allow an unmarried lady to travel alone.”  
“Marcus and Anton will be driving the carriage. It'll be fine, truly.” She reassured her.  
“Alright…” Liz said, a frown on her face. “But when we return home, I will be checking on you.”  
“Yes, mama.” Caroline smiled as she gave her a kiss on the cheek before she went out into the foyer.  
As the footman handed her her cloak, Caroline caught sight of the man that had her feigning a headache and quickly looked away before he spotted her.  
As soon as she was safely in the carriage, the blonde shut her eyes and tried to think about anything but those lips and that man, but that was to no avail.  
Dreamily, the memory continuously played over in her head, but soon she realized that she still wasn't at her family’s townhouse.  
She heard a horse whinny and pushed the curtains that covered the windows aside. Staring out into darkness, she heard the clip clip of the horses hooves and realized that there were far too many than the two that usually pulled along the carriage.  
Immediately, she sat back in her seat and scrambled for the pistol that she knew her father kept under the seat. When she didn't find the metal, she felt the lump forming in her throat. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth grew dry as she thought that this was how her life was going to end.  
After all, who would want to kidnap her without killing her?  
“Oh god,” she whispered to herself as the tears began to fill her eyes.  
Soon thereafter, however, the carriage came to a stop and a man that she did not recognize helped her out of the carriage.  
“Where is Marcus? And Anton?” She questioned as she looked around wildly, unable to locate them.  
“They're fine,” the man responded. “But you have more pressing matters to concern yourself with as of now.” He added, motioning in the direction of the foreboding castle that had more ruins than anything else.  
“Where am I?” She asked as her bottom lip began to tremble.  
“You'll find out all in due time, my lady.” He announced before he motioned for her to move in front of her.  
“I'm not going inside.” Caroline shook her head, standing her ground.  
“That’s up to you, but I recommend you do-- unless of course you want to be carried inside by your suitor.”  
“I don't have any suitors.” She denied, shaking her head.  
“Uh huh,” he shrugged. “Now, shall I call him outside or will you listen like a good girl?”  
“Fine,” she huffed, the annoyance evident in her voice.  
“Perfect,” he smiled and Caroline moved forward.

He descended the staircase with a scowl on his lips and went into the foyer. His butler stood there with his back ramrod straight which he assumed hurt like the devil.  
“You may retire for the evening, Edison.” He told the elderly man.  
With a bow, the butler took off towards the direction of the servants staircase with his slow gait.  
As the door opened, he spotted the blonde enter and gave her a smile.  
When her eyes found his, she stopped in her tracks which had the man behind her bumping into her.  
“You,” she said breathlessly as her beautiful cornflower blue eyes widened.  
“Indeed,” he replied as he gestured for her to enter further.  
Unsure of herself, Caroline took a step forward slowly and the huffing behind her had her moving quicker.  
“You may go, Kol.” The Duke of Colbern announced as he shooed him away.  
“And here I thought I'd get a thank you.” Kol grumbled.  
“Away with you,” Klaus repeated.  
When the two were alone, Caroline looked at him with wide eyes.  
“Why was I brought here?” She questioned, the confusion evident in her voice.  
“After our little meeting on the terrace, I found myself unable to forget about the intimacy we shared hence the reason why I decided to bring you to my home.”  
“You had your men bring me to a castle that may very well fall around us in the next minute just because of those kisses? Are you mad?” She cried out, unable to get her feelings under control.  
“That is what the others call me, you know… And here I thought you were different-- how foolish of me.” He said, actually having the audacity to sound disappointed.  
“You don't bring ladies that you just met to your crumbling castle, my lord.” The girl argued as her hands clenched into fists. “I am supposed to be home in my bedchamber, but instead I am here with no idea as to what happened to my father’s employees.”  
“Your men are fine.” He assured. “And as to being home in your bedchamber, I had to see you.”  
“So instead of calling me on the morrow you had me kidnapped?”  
“Kidnapped? Have my men mistreated you in any way? If so, they're dead.” He quickly said, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.  
“No, no… They didn't, I was frightened, however, which is understandable to any sane person.”  
“And there you go again…” He sighed. “And we weren't exactly introduced to one another.”  
“No, I guess we weren't. But still, you shouldn't have brought me here without my agreement.”  
“If I were to ask, would you agree to accompany me?”  
“No,” she admitted. “I would never ruin my reputation like that.”  
“Of course you wouldn't. You're just like any other chit of the ton, but really I should have known… I'll have Kol escort you home.”  
“I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why you had your men take me here. There has to have been a reason and though I may be like any other chit of the ton--” she mocked. “I happen to have a good head on my shoulders.”  
Sighing, he inhaled a breath before he nodded.  
“Very well,” he said as he watched her intently. “As I said, we were never introduced, so I will introduce myself now.”  
“Alright,” she shrugged. “Give it a go.” She urged.  
“I am the Fifth Duke of Colbern and my name is Niklaus Mikaelson.”  
“Oh,” she said, sounding…disappointed, perhaps?  
“By the tone of your voice, I take it you've heard the rumors surrounding my name.”  
“Yes,” she nodded. “But I happen to not believe what people have to say unless I have seen it firsthand.”  
“Meaning?”  
“I'm Lady Caroline Forbes, the Earl of Raildane’s daughter and I have decided to give you another chance even though you have been acting beastly ever since I entered your home.”  
“Why?” He wondered as his eyes narrowed in distrust.  
“I don't know.” She replied. “There is just something about you that I find interesting and I will get to the bottom of it.”  
Nodding, he moved a step closer…  
“Do you wish to return home?” He asked, hoping she wouldn't give him the answer he thought she would.  
“Not just yet,” she responded carelessly, a dazzling smile appearing on her lips.  
_This was sure going to be a new experience for the both of them..._

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it! I hope it was alright and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, darling!


End file.
